I know, I know... We all hate the guy. He is a world class drunk driving douchaholic.....BUT the guy has started catching passes. In the few games I've seen of the jets this year (including ours) he has made more than a couple tough catches. As we all know edwards was infamous for dropping passes during his time in Cleveland, reminiscent of a black and gold receiver Limas Sweed. Now Limas doesn't have the ego issues that Edwards has, quite the opposite. His confidence is pretty low where as Edwards thought he was savior cometh in Cleveland.

With Sweed I think it's worth keeping him around until his confidence and catching ability correct themselves. With enough support and coaching I think we can polish that turd into a gem. He has ideal size, speed, and showed great hands in college. It's just a matter of putting it all together in the pros. He has shown he's willing to block, now he needs to get over the hump and build his confidence. Hopefully having other young guys (wallace, sanders, brown) who all bream of confidence will help him fall in line. If he can step up and become reliable our WR corps will not miss a beat when Hines retires. It will actually be quite formidable. I would love to see sweed in a nate washington type of role to start out with.

If Sweed doesn't catch everything thrown at him in practice and in preseason then I say cut him. We can't afford to waste a roster spot on him or continue to waste time and energy waiting for him to work out his issues.

I couldn't disagree more, Limas fulfilling his potential only makes us better.

zulater

01-09-2011, 09:38 AM

I couldn't disagree more, Limas fulfilling his potential only makes us better.

So which of those guys do you see him being better than? And assuming Hines comes back for one more season, you'd have to jettison one of those guys in order to keep Limas. So who will it be?

theplatypus

01-09-2011, 10:05 AM

So which of those guys do you see him being better than? And assuming Hines comes back for one more season, you'd have to jettison one of those guys in order to keep Limas. So who will it be?

Assuming that Ward comes back then either Randle El or Battle would be my choice. A 6'4" WR with good hands is an awesome commodity for any football team. Before y'all even start he didn't forget how too catch after leaving Texas.

I_Bleed_Black_And_Gold

01-09-2011, 10:09 AM

Apparently he did forget how to catch...

That would be like drafting a star college running back who forgot how to run.

mesaSteeler

01-09-2011, 10:10 AM

Assuming that Ward comes back then either Randle El or Battle would be my choice. A 6'4" WR with good hands is an awesome commodity for any football team. Before y'all even start he didn't forget how too catch after leaving Texas.

It's his head I worry about, not his height.

cloppbeast

01-09-2011, 10:28 AM

How is one players performance a case for keeping another player?

I like the guy and hope he succeeds elsewhere, but I wouldn't waste a roster spot on a headcase who could turn it around. We have too many talented WRs on the roster now, and Limas provides no special teams value whatsoever. I don't need to overpay tall lanky 5th WR who can't catch to warm the bench.

finesward

01-09-2011, 10:32 AM

Assuming that Ward comes back then either Randle El or Battle would be my choice. A 6'4" WR with good hands is an awesome commodity for any football team. Before y'all even start he didn't forget how too catch after leaving Texas.

Agreed. I think one of those two should go, el being the probable one because of his lack of contribution to special teams besides calling for fair catches.

Maybe its a maturation issue with him, but the same could be said of edwards who now is showing his talent. I would hate for us to give up on a high draft pick just to see him be successful for another team.

During his playing time he showed consistently the ability to get open, he shows he can block, he made some tough catches over the middle ppl seem to forget about. It's the concentration factor that needs to be addressed. That can be coached. Talent is there. I think if he has a good camp and comes back playing with some urgency and focus this corps could be SOLID for years to come. Wallace sanders and brown have shown big play ability, adding a 4th would be deadly to opposing defenses. Not to mention heath in the mix.

finesward

01-09-2011, 10:34 AM

How is one players performance a case for keeping another player?

Because as I mentioned Edwards suffered the same bad rep as a high draft pick who was plagued by drops. The browns gave up on him and now he is showing his talents. That is a case for the steelers to not make the same mistake.

cloppbeast

01-09-2011, 10:46 AM

Because as I mentioned Edwards suffered the same bad rep as a high draft pick who was plagued by drops. The browns gave up on him and now he is showing his talents. That is a case for the steelers to not make the same mistake.

Makes sense.

The argument against that is the fact that Limas probably wouldn't see the field that often with out other young WRs who are actually performing. The Browns didn't have any other WRs that were good.

I feel that taking a chance on Limas Sweed would be a risk not worth taking.

SH-Rock

01-09-2011, 11:11 AM

If he can show up in training camp, preseason etc. then keep him for the season and see how he does during the season. If he can't well cut him. He's not a rookie anymore so they should evaluate him on how much better he is than Sanders/Brown.

finesward

01-09-2011, 11:28 AM

Makes sense.

The argument against that is the fact that Limas probably wouldn't see the field that often with out other young WRs who are actually performing. The Browns didn't have any other WRs that were good.

I feel that taking a chance on Limas Sweed would be a risk not worth taking.

I feel like taking a chance of sweed, who could turn out to be a good receiver for years to come, would be smarter than keeping guys like El and Battle who have been relegated to the bench/special teams. El will never be more than fill-in and battle just plays special teams, something Sweed did when he dressed.

Quality depth at WR is rarity in the league, I think El' and Battle are capable, but Sweed offers the most upside out of the three. You never know when a hammy or high ankle sprain could bite and would give him more time on the field.

He can make catches, just a matter of putting it all together.

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theplatypus

01-09-2011, 11:29 AM

Makes sense.

The argument against that is the fact that Limas probably wouldn't see the field that often with out other young WRs who are actually performing. The Browns didn't have any other WRs that were good.

I feel that taking a chance on Limas Sweed would be a risk not worth taking.

How are we taking a chance on someone we've already drafted and signed? For all any of us know Limas may come back fully recovered from the reported Lyme Disease and the ruptured Achilles and blow us all away. As a Steeler fan I hope he does for two reasons. We're a better team with a 6'4" target for Ben and it completely sucks to whiff on a 2nd round draft pick. Not too mention that if he doesn't the team will have too look elsewhere for depth at WR over the next two years. The whole don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you is just myopic thinking when it comes to what is in the best interests of the Steelers.

cloppbeast

01-09-2011, 11:58 AM

How are we taking a chance on someone we've already drafted and signed? For all any of us know Limas may come back fully recovered from the reported Lyme Disease and the ruptured Achilles and blow us all away. As a Steeler fan I hope he does for two reasons. We're a better team with a 6'4" target for Ben and it completely sucks to whiff on a 2nd round draft pick. Not too mention that if he doesn't the team will have too look elsewhere for depth at WR over the next two years. The whole don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you is just myopic thinking when it comes to what is in the best interests of the Steelers.

We're taking a chance by keeping a roster spot open for him. That means we have to cut another guy to keep Sweed. Plus, the Steelers are paying him as well.

We're talking about a guy who sucks on special teams. His only value is receiving - and he hasn't proven in his 3 years in the league that he can catch. How much time are you going to give him?

Speaking of myopic........Keeping him around because he's a second round pick is myopic. He was already selected, and we can't go back and pick somebody else, but we can pick another guy to fill his roster spot.

I just don't think he's very good. I saw what he did in college, and he had some amazing highlight reel catches - that's why we drafted him. I've also seen what he has done in the NFL; it's not impressive.

I'm not saying he can't turn it around, but I don't think it's likely. Why would you waste a roster spot on a 4 year veteran who has yet to prove anything when you have rookies and second year players at the same position who are already producing?

Invite him to camp, and if he doesn't show you anything, just cut him.

You can disagree with me on the likelihood he becomes a good player, but it is not 'myopic' to cut a player who isn't that good.

zulater

01-09-2011, 12:01 PM

My lingering memory of Limas is of a guy who dropped a critical pass in the AFC Championship game, and then compounded the situation by faking an injury, which cost the Steelers a time out, and ultimately led to them losing a sure fire scoring opportunity. Twice!!!

It's a character thing, I don't think he has the mental makeup to be a high caliber contributer on a perrenial contender. Put him on the Bills where the games don't matter so much and he'd probably be allright, but not In Pittsburgh.

harrison'samonster

01-09-2011, 12:26 PM

I see no problem keeping him around for now. Does anybody know when his contract is up? would there be a salary cap penalty for cutting him?

He's no Sean Morey, but he does have big game experience, which is good to have in a back-up.

tony hipchest

01-09-2011, 12:31 PM

lets keep in mind he may never run faster than 4.6 again.

with that being said just about all the injured steelers have been there with the team all the way (particularly willie colon who also suffered an achilles injury).

where is sweed? :hunch:

theplatypus

01-09-2011, 12:32 PM

I see no problem keeping him around for now. Does anybody know when his contract is up? would there be a salary cap penalty for cutting him?

He's no Sean Morey, but he does have big game experience, which is good to have in a back-up.

I believe that he's signed through 2011.

from wikipedia

Because of this setup, NFL contracts almost always include the right to cut a player before the beginning of a season. If a player is cut, his salary for the remainder of his contract is neither paid nor counted against the salary cap for that team. A highly sought-after player signing a long term contract will usually receive a signing bonus, thus providing him with financial security even if he is cut before the end of his contract.

LVSteelersfan

01-09-2011, 01:00 PM

What is it with you people saying he can't catch the ball? He has had less than 10 balls thrown his way and has caught a pretty good percentage of them. Give me a break. Just because he dropped a very high profile type pass, that is all you remember about him. You people think you know everything about everything. What makes you an authority on whether or not he is a head case? The coaching staff makes that determination, not some message board posters. I believe in the coaching staff and if he gets cut by them, then I will believe he is no good. No time before that.

zulater

01-09-2011, 01:27 PM

What is it with you people saying he can't catch the ball? He has had less than 10 balls thrown his way and has caught a pretty good percentage of them. Give me a break. Just because he dropped a very high profile type pass, that is all you remember about him. You people think you know everything about everything. What makes you an authority on whether or not he is a head case? The coaching staff makes that determination, not some message board posters. I believe in the coaching staff and if he gets cut by them, then I will believe he is no good. No time before that.

He's had about 4 drops in those ten attempts. The guy's mentally weak, he wont be a Steeler in 2011, mark it down. :coffee: